What your servers go through that you don't know about

A lot of times people will come into a restaurant, sit down, and not give a rip about the person that is waiting on them. Why would they? They aren't there to hear their life story or anything; they are there to eat. But I want to shed a light on what happens in the restaurant business to servers. At least this server.
I've been working in a casual dinning restaurant for over two years now and I've seen people that I thought were only fictional characters in movies, had more bills than tips in a week, and have experienced the ups and downs of working with people that have a great attitude, and a not so pleasant one.
Join me in this journey of telling the story of the life of a server and feel free to comment and ask questions.

Friday, February 12, 2010

rough night...

Well tonight was one of those nights... the kind that really stink. It started out pretty good, but i ended up having barley any tables and the ones that i did were cheap! except for a couple. but we usually have a three table section that is usually full throughout the night. tonight however was a little different. i had at least one table open all night even after the host seeing that i did and me telling her...kind of irritating. but anyways, (and this is going to be a little bit of a complaining entry...sorry)
Oh and just so that this can be out there: Servers only make, depending on the restaurant, $2.13-$4 an hour which usually goes to taxes. and then we have to tip out our bussers and server supports 2.5% of what we sell. I think the biggest check i've ever gotten from the Mac Shack (macaroni grill) is about $50. Thats two weeks and about 63-70 hours later... So servers depend on TIPS for things like bills.
So needless to say, tonight was not a very good night. Had a SIX top spilt TWO entrees, a table tip me almost nothing after i gave them great service, and the wonderful teenager that tries to impress his girlfriend taking her to a "fancy" restaurant and tips barley anything...
And just to clear up any thoughts that might be going through your head, if anyone actually reads this, a recommended tip percentage is 20%. "WOW!" you might be thinking. "That's just outrageous!" Well my pastor back home used to say "if you don't have enough money to tip at least 20% then you don't have enough money to go out to eat." and i, and every other server probably, agree!
but anyways, if you're going to go out to a nicer restaurant, i know times are hard and the economy stinks, but be mindful that the person that is giving you your eggplant parmesan has bills to pay too, and you really are the one that determines if they will meet the date for that bill.
We are people too, not SERVANTS, but SERVERS. we're here to serve you, not be bossed around by you like you no what you're talking about and we don't. So please please please PLEASE be mindful of that next time you go out.
Thanks for your time and have a great day! :D
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